DETROIT/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - General Motors Co in 2005 decided
not to change an ignition switch eventually linked to the
deaths of at least 13 people because it would have added about a
dollar to the cost of each car, according to an
internal GM document provided to U.S. congressional
investigators.

The U.S. House Committee on Energy and
Commerce released the documents on Tuesday as lawmakers
asked CEO Mary Barra why GM failed to recall 2.6
million cars until more than a decade after it first
noticed a switch problem that could cut off engines and
disable airbags, power steering and power brakes.

Colorado Congresswoman Diana DeGette cited a
2005 GM document that she said showed a cost of 57
cents per fix.

DeGette did not release the document, and Reuters was unable to
get a copy. However, Reuters obtained what appeared to be a
separate document, a series of 2005 emails
between GM engineers debating whether to make a change
to the ignition switch. The change would have cost an extra
90 cents per unit and additional tooling costs of $400,000, one
email showed. Those tooling costs typically are amortized over
several years.

Barra said she found the concept of turning down the change
because of tooling costs "very disturbing. That is not the way we
do business in the New GM."

In the email exchange, one of the engineers, John Hendler,
said his team was prepared to continue using
a switch that was made by Delphi Automotive and
approved by GM, even though Delphi told the automaker in
early 2002 that the switch did not meet GM's
performance specifications.

Hendler said the cars, including the Chevrolet
Cobalt and Saturn Ion, which were recalled this year,
would continue using the old switch "until the piece
cost can be eliminated or significantly reduced," and targeted a
new switch for 2009 models. Reuters was unable to
contact Hendler.

Another GM executive, Lori Queen, who had
responsibility for the development of GM's small cars,
responded, "I'm not sure it's ok to wait." She did not explain
herself in the email. Queen did not return a call seeking
comment. A General Motors spokesman said the company was still
investigating the recall and would review all relevant documents.

Representatives repeatedly questioned Barra about GM's
weighing of costs even in safety situations. Barra said that was
no longer the case, and that the company since its 2009
bankruptcy was changing from a "cost culture" to one focused on
customers.

EMPTY BLANKS

In the early 2000s, GM, like the
other Detroit automakers was under intense cost
pressure, in the face of competition from overseas rivals and a
legacy of high labor costs. Those and other financial issues
eventually led to GM's 2009 bankruptcy.

GM did change the ignition switch, in 2006, but the
process did not comply with the company's own rules, documents
and testimony show.

Parts maker Delphi told congressional investigators last week
that the redesigned switch on the 2007 models was
harder to move out of position, but the force required to turn
the switch was "still below GM's original
specifications," according to a timeline released by the
investigators.

A separate, April 26, 2006, document called a "validation
sign-off", authorized changes to the switch, including a new
spring, designed to increase the force required to move
the switch.

The document showed that the part number did not change, when
redesigned, an issue which GM said hampered its own
internal investigation.

"It is inconceivable," Barra said, when asked about the design
change without a corresponding change in part number. "It is not
our process."

Moreover, several fields on the document marked as "required" are
left blank or with "N/A", including purchase order number and
"validation engineer".

The document has the signature of GM "lead
engineer" Ray DeGiorgio, who could not be reached for
comment. In a 2013 deposition in a suit against GM,
DeGiorgio had said he was unaware of a change in the part.

A retired GM manager familiar with the automaker's
engineering and manufacturing procedures said that another
manager would have had to sign off on the part, by company
policy, given DeGiorgio's relatively low seniority. "So who
approved a design change without a part number change?"

Barra confirmed that DeGiorgio is still employed by the company
and said she has not yet heard his explanation for signing the
2006 document.

The redesigned ignition switch was installed on 2007
Chevrolet Cobalts and Saturn Ions in late
2006,GM has said.

(Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit and Marilyn
Thompson in Washington; additional reporting by Simon Gardner in
Mexico City and Nick Carey in Chicago, editing by Peter
Henderson)

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